Transportation package and pallet therefor



April 10, 1956 H. J. KLEIN 2,741,361

TRANSPORTATION PACKAGE AND PALLET THEREFOR Filed Oct. 29, 1951 A 770 are .2

United tates Patent TRANSPORTATION PACKAGE AND PALLET THEREFOR Henry J. Klein, Qhicago, 111., assignor to Atlas-Boxmakers, Inc, Chicago, BL, a corporation of Delaware Application October 29, 1951, Serial No. 253,596

2 Claims. (Cl. 206-60) This invention relates generally to the transportation of sheet materials, and particularly to a pallet therefor.

la the transportation of sheet materials such as paper, paperboard, and even metallic sheets, eiforts have been made to ship the same in stacks supported upon a pallet having a base suitably elevated above the floor that the fork of a lift truck may be received thereunder and the stack moved intact to and from warehouses, transportation vehicles, etc. One form of pallet, heretofore utilized for the transportation of paperboard sheets has involved a base formed of corrugated paperboard supported by suitable feet. The sheets of paperboard are stacked upon the base aforesaid, and suitably strapped thereto. In transportation of palletized packages of this character, a very considerable number of sheets in the stack become so distorted, misshapen, and damaged, that they are unsuited for subsequent conversion into containers. This damage to the sheets being shipped is so different in kind and character as between palletized packages in the same carload that it has been impossible to ascertain the proximate cause therefor.

The object of the present invention is to provide a transportation package and pallet for the shipment of sheet materials wherein the sheet materials will be less subject to dmage and the number of unusable sheets in a package substantially reduced from the experience with palletized packages of the character aforesaid.

The present invention contemplates that this and other objects be accomplished by stacking the sheet material on a pallet having spaced supporting feet and a base or base panel formed solely of paperboard or similar semirigid material, as contrasted with such rigid materials as wood. The term base panel is used in the sense of defining the area underlying the stacked sheet material, so that vertical flaps may extend integrally therefrom generally above the supporting feet to bridge the space therebetween. The flaps extend vertically a distance substantially less than the full height of the package, and other portions of paperboard extend horizontally and integrally from the upper margins of the flaps into the stacked sheet material. The vertical flaps reinforce the base against sagging between the feet, and the upper horizontal extensions secured within the stacked sheet material pre vent the upper margins of the vertical flaps from crinkling under compressive bending stresses. The lower margins of the flaps are strengthened by their integral connection with the base, which may be one or more thicknesses of board.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent to those skilled in the art when the following description is read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a transportion package embodying the present invention;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the platform part of the package;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a pallet constructed in accordance with one form of the present invention;

'stantial gap between the free edges.

ice

Figure 4 is a view corresponding to Figure 2 but showing a modified form of platform;

Figure 5 is a view corresponding to Figures 2 and 4 but showing another modified form of platform; and

Figure 6 is a view corresponding to Figure 3 but showing the platform of Figure 5.

Referring now to Figure 1 of the drawings, a transportation package is shown wherein a stack of sheets 1 of material such as paperboard is supported upon a platform 2 carried by a pallet having a base 3 and suitable feet 4. The several parts are bound together by suitable straps 5.

The platform 2 consists essentially of a plurality of sheets 6, like sheets 1, superposed on base 3 and embraced by fiap members which include vertical flaps 7 and horizontal flaps 8. In the embodiment shown in Figure 2, the flaps 7 and 8 are integral with a single thickness base 3 and are scored to provide fold lines positioned to embrace the plurality of sheets 6. Preferably, the vertical dimension of flaps 7 is such as to accommodate a pile of sheets 6 at least 1" high, but depending upon the load to be sustained by the platform, the vertical dimension of flap 7 may be greater. it is understood that in any event, the pile of sheets 6 will have a height such as to tightly fill the pocket between fiaps 8 and base 3 so that the vertical flap 7 is subjected to the minimum of vertical load from the stack to be super-posed thereon.

In the form shown in Figures 2 and 3, the horizontal flaps 8 extend inwardly from their respective vertical flaps 7 for a distance such that there is practically no gap between the free edges of the flaps 8 when folded into the position shown in Figure 2. in the embodiment shown in Figure 4 on the other hand, the flaps 18 which correspond in function to the flaps 5 terminate more nearly to flap 7. With the arrangement in Figure 4, a few of the lowermost sheets 1 in the stack to be carried by the platform distort between the free edges of flaps 18, but experience has shown that the amount of paper stock thereby wasted is less than that which is consumed in extending the horizontal flaps so as to provide no subln cases where the pallet is intended to be used but once, it is therefore desirable to reduce to the minimum the amount of paper stock consumed in its construction, and the form shown in Figure 4 is to be recommended. On the other hand, when it is intended that the pallet be reused, the number of unusable sheets in the stack being shipped is minimized by extending the flaps 8 as shown in Figure 2.

In the embodiment shown in Figures 5 and 6, the vertical and horizontal flaps above-described are not integral with a single thickness base 3 as in the case of the previous embodiments. In Figure 5, separate flap members having vertical flaps 2'7 and upper horizontal flaps 28 as well, as a lower horizontal flap 29, are provided. These flap members are laid upon a base portion 3 with flaps 29 forming another portion of the multiple-ply base, and the pocket defined thereby filled with sheets constituting part of the shipment in the manner above described. In the embodiment in Figure 5, four such flap members are provided, each disposed with its vertical wall 27 substantially aligned with an edge of base 3. With four such separate flap members, all four sides of the sheets 6 are contained within the pocket defined thereby, and the platform is reinforced against bending along all ares.

Where the base 3 and the sheets i and 6 are of rectangular shape, and it is desired to make use of but two of the flap members, it is preferable that the same be provided at the longer sides of the package.

The feet 4 may be formed of any suitable material such as piles of paperboard, blocks of wood, molded papier-mache, or otherwise, as it is only necessary for such feet to have a compressive strength sufiicient to withstand the load imposed thereon, to be securable to the lower face of base 3 and to sustain the base 3 at a sufiicient distance above a floor surface so that the fork of alift. truck may enter beneath the baseB.

Paperboard sheets packed in accordance with the present invention and transported in a box car alongside packages of like sheets on the conventional pallets, first above-described, arrived at their destination with substantially less distortion and damage than sheets packed on' 5' embrace the package between feet 4, the prevention of sagging in this region not only avoids distortion of the sheets at the bottom of the stack, but avoids communicating that distortion through the straps to the upper sheets, and so strengthens the entire package that it does not tilt and sway with reference to the base.

From the foregoing description, those skilled in the art should readily understand the construction, operation, and advantages of the invention, and realize that it accomplishes its objects. While several embodiments have been described, it is not to be understood that the invention is limited to those embodiments; on the contrary,

it'is to be understood that such embodiments are merely illustrative and it is realized that those skilled in the art may readily modify, adapt and vary the structures shown without departing from the spirit of this invention or the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A transportation package comprising a stack of flexible sheet material, a base panel formed solely of semi-rigid paperboard of size corresponding substantially to the size of the sheets in the stacks, said base having supporting feet spaced along two opposed margins thereof to accommodate the fork of a lift truck, a pair of basereinforcing flaps of semi-rigid paperboard extending from said base-forming panel across said margins generally over said spaced feet to bridgethe space therebetween, said flaps projecting vertically from the base panel a dis: tance substantially less than the full height of the package, and horizontal extensions of semi-rigid paperboard projecting from the upper margins of said vertical flaps into the stacked sheet material; said vertical flaps, horizontal extensions and base panel being integrally connectedwith one another. a

2. A package as set forth in claim 1,.further including a second pair of vertical flaps, said second pair of vertical flaps having extensions projecting into said stacked sheet material.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Gill Dec. 15, 

